I’ve always had a terrible sense of smell, it gotten a lot worse since my last septoplasty surgery that I recently had (around a year ago). It’s somewhat cool since I can handle working with smelly patients and etc, but damn, I miss my sense of smell.

Don’t know if anyone else has a considerably poor sense of smell as well or if just me.

Also if anyone has any advice on how to somehow improve my sense of smell, I would appreciate it.

Hi All

We found out at our 18 week scan yesterday that our baby has a unilateral cleft lip and palate (everything else came back healthy and is developing well). It's been a lot to take in but we're trying to focus on learning as much as we can and preparing ourselves for the journey ahead.

We're due to meet the specialist cleft team in the next 2 weeks with a further scan to determine the exact extent of the cleft, but in the meantime we'd really appreciate hearing from other parents who have been through this (whether you're currently pregnant, your little one has already been born or you've been on this road for years already).

We simply want to be as informed and prepared as possible for what's ahead.

If you're happy to share, we'd love to hear about anything and everything you're willing to share:

* Your experience after the diagnosis
* Whether you chose to have the amniocentesis procedure since there's a miscarriage risk
* What the pregnancy and birth were like (if anything is different to normal)
* Feeding in those first few weeks/months
* The surgery journey and recovery process
* Speech, hearing and dental outcomes
* How your child is doing now (physically, mentally and developmentally)
* Anything you wish you knew before baby was born

Hearing real experiences from parents who have walked/walking this path would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone I posted here about 3 weeks ago but I had my jaw surgery on June 30th. I had le fort 1 with a distraction device that was turned daily for about 18 days. I am almost a month post op I’m too lazy and tired to bc check the date but I’m in so much mental pain. I’m 16 right now but my last surgery (before this one) I think I was 12? It’s been a while but while recovering I’ve had thoughts of just wanting to die. It’s been very hard for me to stay strong. The pain was incredibly intense during the distractions (when the device was turned) and I often wake up with nightmares now even though the process ended. We stopped distracting at 18 mm my upper jaw was forward to match my lower. We physically turned it 18 times but we doubt it actually progressed 18 mm because my underbite was 1 cm originally. Another concern I also feel like the hole in my pallet reopened up. Actually I’m certain because food comes through my nose. I already had 2 bone grafts to fix this yet it’s open again. I’m just in so much discomfort and I don’t know what to do. I know time will pass but it seems so slow. I just want to be done with all of this pain. My surgeon said I will have another jaw correction surgery next summer, along with a small surgery in a few months to take the metal plates out of my face. I can’t do all of this. I can’t take it anymore I’m in so much pain I almost just want to take everything out of my face and be comfortable. Please tell me it gets better I’m trying to encourage myself but my parents are very traditional and not patient with me. They often yell at me for crying or showing any emotion. Honestly I gave up on looking forward to looking “normal” I just want to be put out of this misery. I just want to go back to my normal self. I have two pieces of metal sticking out from the sides of my nose I’m upset because im sure there will be a scar when it is removed and until then my face just looks scary. My face is so “bulged” forward, and I feel like my nostrils are a lot more uneven now. I’m so unhappy with the results.im just hoping I won’t look like this permanently

I just graduated from high school and I'm waiting for college to start. These past few weeks I've had a lot of time to think, and looking back, I realized just how much my childhood affected me.

I was born with a cleft lip and palate. For anyone who doesn't know, it's a condition where the lip and roof of the mouth don't fully develop before birth. It affected both my speech and my appearance. I've had 8 surgeries so far, and every one of them has been difficult.

When I was younger, I was bullied a lot. People made fun of the way I spoke and looked. At the time, I tried to convince myself it didn't matter. I laughed things off and tried to stay happy, but I think I was just hiding how much it hurt.

Some of my strongest memories aren't happy ones. I remember hearing classmates talk about vacations while I was lying in bed recovering from another surgery. It felt like everyone else was living a normal childhood while mine kept getting interrupted.

I did have a few good friends, and I'm grateful for them because they gave me some genuinely happy memories.

One thing that has always bothered me is that I never really talked to girls. I had almost no conversations with them. There was one girl I really liked—she was smart, kind, and beautiful. I eventually told her how I felt, and she rejected me. Looking back, I know she had every right to, but it still hurt.

As a kid I was pretty mischievous. Looking back now, I think I wasn't trying to be "the funny kid." I think I was just desperate for attention because I felt invisible. It always seemed like my existence didn't really matter.

As school went on, my close friends ended up in different classes because we chose different subjects, and I felt completely alone.

Reading out loud in class was one of the worst experiences. Teachers would ask me to read, people would laugh at my speech, and some would even say, "Repeat, repeat." I felt humiliated every single time. Sometimes even the teachers seemed to ignore me.

I wasn't a top student either—just average. If I ever got into an argument or was bullied, it often felt like the other person was believed instead of me. Those moments made me feel like nobody was willing to listen.

During the last two years of school I became almost completely silent. I stopped talking unless I absolutely had to.

I also had septoplasty surgery. The surgeons suggested taking rib cartilage for reconstruction, but I was terrified and refused. Because of that, I'm really insecure about how my nose looks now. My confidence is at its lowest, and I honestly struggle to believe that any girl could ever want to date me.

In a few days I'll be starting college. Instead of feeling excited, I'm scared. I'm carrying all these insecurities with me, and sometimes I wonder if I was just meant to be alone. Maybe I'm supposed to live alone and die alone.

My parents don't really understand how I feel. They think I don't speak because I physically can't, but the truth is that I've become afraid to speak because of years of being laughed at.

I'm almost 18 now, and I keep asking myself the same question:

Will anyone ever be able to love someone like me?

Thanks for reading

What they post on social media, you can see it on the clients lips -- how they all have the same glossiness, is right after injecting, where the lips will look way more full then they actually turn out.

This leads to a skewed picture of what the results actually turn out to be, since most of the swelling contributes to filling out the imbalance, when the swelling goes away your lips will look basically the same.

They also only post pictures when the results turn out to be decent, obviously they won't post results where there's barely any discernable difference or where it still looks like shit.

i hate life so much. god some people have it so fucking easy, sitting there with their fucking full and perfectly shaped lips complaining about bruising on r/plasticsurgery. it's divine unfairness

idk who to talk to about this, since most of my friendships are pretty surface level and people just can’t really relate to my situation, so hi🥲

i'm f19 and i feel like i had to grow up a lot quicker than most people my age, because of my cleft lip and the mental load that came with it. i mostly spent time around adults, did more “adult” things, and ended up with interests that matched that. adults didn’t really judge me and they understood my depression n fear of people, even when i was younger.

now that i’m 19, i’ve worked on myself a lot (confidence, mindset, therapy, etc.) and i’m not as insecure or anxious as i used to be. i can actually talk to people my age now. feels like my brain got a huge update lol

but even though i can connect with people my age now and even share some interests, i still feel really distant from them. i know there are people out there who get me but they feel pretty rare

it sometimes feels like i’ve had a more “set” personality for a long time, while a lot of people my age are still figuring themselves out.

that's completely fair... but it makes it hard to relate. i’ll connect with someone and then a week later they seem like a totally different person. it just makes me feel kinda out of place, n it makes me cringe when they fake all of their interests... because those are your interests?? why are you not actually interested in them?? hello?????

on the other hand, i tend to click much more easily with people who are older than me (like mid 20s and up). conversations feel more natural, i don’t feel like i have to adjust myself, and people just seem more settled and genuine. they know who they are

but at the same time, a lot of them are (understandably) a bit cautious around me because of the age difference & i get why. i'd feel weird too if i was talking to someone younger than me. they also have their own established circles now n they don't really want to risk letting someone else in, also understandably so

so now i’m in this weird spot where i can finally make friends, because i can handle my social anxiety and depression + i'm not an insecure little girl anymore, but i still feel stuck

i don’t fully fit in with people my age, but i also don’t really fit in with older people either

has anyone else in here dealt with this and could give me some advice? i feel like i'm going crazy 🥲

Hi everyone. I have a cleft palate, and it affects my speech a bit. Does this make it harder to get hired for IT jobs, especially entry-level positions? I'd appreciate hearing your experiences or advice. Thanks!

37. It never ends. Went to get a haircut today and this lady just stares at me for a long time. Finally, she says, you have the prettiest eyes. That is not what you stared at for that long but thanks I guess. Just like hate going anywhere honestly.

I think a lot of us can agree that we're tired of being gawked at. It's such a dehumanizing experience, and yet people are so ignorant about how they're being. Sometimes I just want to say "were you raised by wolves? because your manners are shit." Seriously.

Anyway, I am surprised to find that there aren't many self-help books on facial difference. Clefties need a book like that. An empowering self help book on how to cope w/ stares.

I might like to do interviews to get different perspectives. Would anyone be interested in being interviewed? This might be a qualitative study turned into a book.

Hi everyone,

I'm 18 years old and I have a cleft lip and palate. I've never really talked to girls since my school days, so I've never had the chance to learn how to build that kind of connection.

I'm making this post because I'm interested in dating someone online, preferably someone from the cleft community. I know this might sound unusual, but I'm being completely honest about my intentions. I'm not here to be creepy, waste anyone's time, or mislead anyone.

I thought this community might understand me better because we've gone through similar experiences—surgeries, bullying, insecurities, and everything that comes with having a cleft. It would be nice to get to know someone who understands those experiences, whether it leads to dating or even just a genuine friendship.

If you're interested in talking, feel free to message me. If not, that's completely okay too. Please don't judge me for making this post—I'm just being honest about what I'm looking for.

Thanks for reading.

Day 4 post surgery, still at the hospital, baby refuses to eat. We have been trying to feed him with a syringe, and he just pockets the milk on his mouth and refuses to swallow. Has anyone had issues with feeding after surgery? How long did it last before baby started eating?